Revisiting Silk Road Restaurant

Well, business certainly seemed to have picked up at Silk Road Restaurant since the last time I wrote about it. Back then, we pretty much had the place to ourselves, even if it was a weekend. On our last two visits (twice within a week, both on Sunday nights), the place was packed with a mixture of students and family groups. Lucky for us though, there was a long, empty table left so we didn't have to endure an awkward table-sharing situation until halfway through our meal - and we were so engrossed in our meal by then that we hardly noticed the newcomers. 

Kelp in spicy sauce

Manbacon and I started with kelp in garlicky, spicy sauce - it's the one dish we always order on our visits there. I love it so much I'm pretty sure I could eat it every day if I had to (not really sure what situation would come up in which I would HAVE to eat it all the time though).

Egg, leek and shrimp dumplings

I wasn't feeling particularly meaty that day, so we got the egg, leek and shrimp dumplings instead. As usual, not particularly shrimpy, but still tasty and filling. I like dipping them into vinegar (provided on the side of every table) - the acidity really helps cut through the rather thick skin and gives it a bit of a kick.

Beef and potato

This was Manbacon's choice and it was...just okay. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in a restaurant that has so many outstanding dishes, this just didn't stand out. It's slow-cooked beef with chunks of potatoes, in a soy sauce based gravy. The beef was tender and the sauce went well with white rice (we ordered a bowl to share) but it was just a little...meh.

Spinach with chilli

I'm not sure what kind of spinach they used here, but it was definitely a more robust cousin to the soggy, easily-wilted kind other restaurants use. The hardy greens were great for soaking up the garlic and chilli sauce, and for injecting some much-needed vitamins into my relatively poor diet. 

They may have become busier, but I'm glad to report that standards haven't slipped one bit, and prices are still as low as ever. But it would be great if you didn't all come at once - I still like not having to wait for an empty table there. 

Silk Road Restaurant
49 Camberwell Church Street
SE5 8TR